Is it possible to straighten natural hair often nd not get heat damaged?

[Zay-neey]

Or heat trained?
I prefer to stretch my natural hair, using a flat ironing, then styling it in a bantu knot out.

What i do:
I make sure my hair is very moisturized with a DC, before flat ironing.
I dont use blow dryers, and i straighten my hair at 360 degrees F, only doing two passes and i use heat protectant for each pass.

was thinking about doing this weekly, or biweekly. not sure yet.

can i do this, and not get damaged, or trained hair?
I actually love my texture, but i manipulate my hair wayy more, when its left in its kinky state. Which for me, causes a ton of breakage, which equals no length retention. also those SSKs dont help any.

Any advice will be helpful.

my hair is coarse, and is 98% 4a. 2% 3c

 

[prettypithy]

Depends on how you define damage. You may get straight pieces but not breakage. If a few straight pieces here and there don't bother you, I think you can use regular heat without causing terrible breakage/split-end type damage.

 

[preciouslove0x]

only the unicorns don't get some type of heat damage from weekly flat ironing. heat damage includes but not limited to: straight pieces, frizzy hair, less/more porous hair, breakage, more breakage, split ends, coarse pieces, hair that doesn't ever seem to "do right", more breakage, no retention (which equals breakage) etc.

There are so many ways to get straight hair as a natural that doesn't use heat that it's not even funny. There's not one way other way that works for you?

Also, I see that you're are 4a. I know that me being a 4b head, I can never get away without blow drying first if I want to flat iron because I am more likely to get heat damage because of the uneven (curly) surface. Some parts of an individual curl will inevitably get more heat than other part of the curl. If that makes sense at all. Therefore, if I want to straighten or stretch my hair, I have to blow dry it semi-straight before flat ironing it.

ETA: Try biweekly flat ironing to see how that works for you. Just try to avoid weekly flat ironing. UNLESS you know without a doubt your hair won't be fried by the end of the month.

 

[Zay-neey]

only the unicorns don't get some type of heat damage from weekly flat ironing. heat damage includes but not limited to: straight pieces, frizzy hair, less/more porous hair, breakage, more breakage, split ends, coarse pieces, hair that doesn't ever seem to "do right", more breakage, no retention (which equals breakage) etc.

There are so many ways to get straight hair as a natural that doesn't use heat that it's not even funny. There's not one way other way that works for you?

Also, I see that you're are 4a. I know that me being a 4b head, I can never get away without blow drying first if I want to flat iron because I am more likely to get heat damage because of the uneven (curly) surface. Some parts of an individual curl will inevitably get more heat than other part of the curl. If that makes sense at all. Therefore, if I want to straighten or stretch my hair, I have to blow dry it semi-straight before flat ironing it.

ETA: Try biweekly flat ironing to see how that works for you. Just try to avoid weekly flat ironing. UNLESS you know without a doubt your hair won't be fried by the end of the month.

thanks, i flat iron biweekly.
I detangle with a wide tooth ,then stretch my hair using braids, and detangling again with a fine tooth comb before i flat iron. after that i have no curl pattern. looks like a blow out. when my hair is really moisturized it straightens very easily.

Ive tried roller setting, but my hair reverts very quickly when i do that. just applying moisturizer makes it shrink up.

 

[preciouslove0x]

^^ oh ok i can see now how a blow dry wouldn't be necessary for you.

no one knows your hair but you. it seems like you have a very good routine going. try biweekly straightening for one to two months and see how it goes.

hopefully someone else will come in and tell of their personal experiences

 

[SilentRuby]

I think so... I've been transitioning for about three years and a good bit of that I've blow dried and flat ironed. My hair has no problem reverting and is just as curly as ever. I am a type 4 also.